Friday, April 29, 2016

I think there is a reason this is the title track. Before I get into the art that was inspired by this song… I’d like to talk about the song itself.

“Oil & Water” is automatically one of my favorites because even though I am more of a lyrical person; It’s the music that pulls me in right away. It’s quite possibly one of the most soothing melodies I have ever heard. Doesn’t it make you close your eyes and just...sway in contentment? Just like the rest of the album, this song is a prime example of how Lee masters the craft of songwriting. Have you ever listened to a song where the lyrics were so vivid that it makes you feel like you lived through it yourself? That is what happens to me every single time Lee sings, which is why it is so easy for me to be inspired by him. His lyrics already paint the picture... THAT is what makes him such an amazing songwriter. He pours his heart into his songs and just knows what to say to capture that experience and emotion… then make you feel it too. He is Brilliant. I could go on and on…

I guess you want to see the art now, huh? My original plan for this piece was to actually use oil & water to paint it. I saw an amazing youtube video on how to mix watercolors and oil and how their seperation creates art on it’s own… Turns out, it was not as easy as I thought…. I got this….

…. It has grease marks….

Luckily I had a plan B.

I love the way watercolors bleed into each other

and although it’s the exact opposite of oil & water….It worked well because it also represents hope that those two things he loves so much, could someday come together…. So I made the background of the piece bleed together with colors to copy sun set AND sun rise to take you both from “Cause I’ll be gone in the morning light” to “every time the sun goes down…”…

For the actual focal point, I did a continuous line drawing of him putting his gear into a taxi yet again… leaving one love for another….

I also had an idea of having Jonna’s hand holding that string that formed the lyric and image, however that looked better in my mind than on the paper. I am extremely happy with this one... It's simple & to the point....I hope you love it as much as I do!!!

Here’s is Mare’s point of view……

“Gotta separate what I want and what needs to be done….” Oil and water… They never mix together to become one thing, but you can combine them and somehow they live side by side. Lee is talking about the two things he loves most in his life: being home with family, and being on the road sharing his music…. and the struggle of not being able to do both at the same time. Oil and water. As a human being, I love and understand the lyrics of this song because I have had those feelings about parts of my life many times. As a fan, it’s hard to hear the lyrics because I don’t ever want “the road” to be something that “has” to be done..I don’t ever want sharing music to be a difficult thing for him, because the music means SO much to me. See? I have an oil and water reaction to this song. Lee is a brilliant songwriter, which means his words and the melodies he puts those words with can mean so many different things to different people... make them feel so many different things. In a broader and more personal way for me, this song makes me think about two different areas in my own life. The way we love the people in our lives and how we go about that. We all show love differently…. sometimes those ways mix well…. and sometimes… they don’t. I also think about head versus heart. This is a BIG struggle in my own life… and they are ALWAYS like oil and water.

Jenn drew the exact oil and water moment…the moment when Lee is leaving one thing he loves for the other. I love two specific details about this art besides capturing the exact moment when you try to mix two loves…. She made this a continuous line drawing. If you think about it, this music life he leads is like that. There is no beginning or ending to all the feelings that surround what went into this song. As long as he keeps making music, it will always be that way. Jenn also used part of the lyrics, to create the look of sunrise and sunset (which happen to be my favorite times of the day) to build from the continuous line drawing.... An endless amount of time and part of the idea of a continuous line.... because as always, she is magic. Because the details matter when you care so much about the music… when you are making the music... And when you are making that music visual.

And here is Danielle's view point. In Her case this time, the art was TOO simple to write to on it's own, so she did listen to the song first:

"When I first listen to Oil And Water, it makes me think about someone being confused. He has to "do what needs to be done", and he THOUGHT he knew what he wanted, but at the same time, he regrets the strain it puts on the important parts of the life he wants to create. It's like having a conflict between two important parts of his life and they don't mix well together. When I see the art, it makes me feel like he is leaving the world he created for a repetitive necessity. A heavy feeling he feels over and over again. " - Danielle

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

There are not enough words in the English language to describe how much I love Lee DeWyze’s new album “Oil & Water”.

It’s one of those albums that play your heart strings from the beginning to the end with his soulful voice, honest lyrics and beautifully arranged melodies and harmonies. Having followed Lee through his musical journey, I am so proud of him and this album. This album is just...HIM.

I will try my hardest to limit each post to the chosen track because I can easily get distracted and go on and on about how much I love this album, SO….. Let’s talk about “Again” :

Track #1 on the album is “Again”; At first listen to the lyrics, the story it tells is pretty obvious in my opinion, which is a hauntingly beautiful ode to the excitement and relief you feel when it’s time to go home.

You know that feeling… you can be on the most amazing vacation or journey, but that last night, no matter how great of a time you had… you are excited to go home.

That is basically what this song makes me feel, but on a much deeper level. Not current home… but from the very first time I heard Lee sing this song live, It made me think of my childhood home. The two lyrics that pull me in are “Feels like home again” and “for a while, just a while let me feel at home again”

This explanation could also easily become a book, so I will give you the cliff notes version for those that are new here and do not know me. I was raised by my grandmother, she was my best friend and my childhood home has always been a sacred place to me. I felt safe there, it was my happy place and just the thought of walking through that door again feels like a giant warm comforting blanket wrapping around me. I have explained many times that although I have a wonderful, happy life as an adult; that "home"feeling of your childhood is much different. It's the comfort you had before you had a job,before kids, before being an adult and having everyday work stress, before falling in love...it's a different feeling…

There was nothing that had the same effect on me until Lee’s music. His voice and songs give me almost the exact same feeling…. Especially when it inspires me to create.

This is why the image that immediately came to me when hearing this song, is that very same house……

It wasn’t a fancy house by any means…. It was a small ranch home that was built by my grandfather, doing his best to give my grandmother the old stone barn look she dreamed of. That was the place I felt the most loved “…For a while, for a while… Let me feel at home again….” Sometimes the “home” feeling and the feelings the music gives me are so similar, that it overflows into my dreams. I have had more than a few dreams where I was showing Lee around that house…. Telling him all the stories and all the things that make it so special. …..

Now I will be tagging Mare in to talk about how the art and the song make her feel…….

"When I listen to Lee’s song “Again”, I picture someone sitting alone, lost in their thoughts, just trying to hang on. The guitar melody is what over-thinking and hanging on sound like to me…. He leaves it simple, letting the feeling of what those thoughts are come through as he thinks about them over and over “again”. His voice seems resigned with an echo of loneliness…. while the lyrics, his thoughts, are of a memory of where he feels most at peace, and desperately wanting to feel that again…. to breathe again. Even for just a moment.

Again. It means one more time. Whatever it may be, you want “it” again because of how it made you feel. A person, a place, a song…. a memory of something that takes you back in time. “I want to see you again.”…. “I want to be there again.”……. “I want to listen again.”….. “I want to feel that again.” It’s that one place that gives you peace, a connection, where you feel like you can be yourself. Where you are FOUND and where you are “home”. For Jenn, it is her grandmothers house, and that’s where this song takes her. Life is meant to be lived and we feel the ups and downs along the way. In that journey, we all have something that we hold on to that connects us to who we are, and when we remember it, when we think about it and when we feel it….it lets us feel at peace again…. one more time."- Mare

Now, here is Danielle's take on the art alone:

"This house makes me feel many different emotions. Currently, I feel sad because I miss this house. I miss the feelings associated with the house. It's not the house in it's physical sense. After all..a house is just a house. It's the people and the love that make it a home.

Growing up, this house was my safe haven. I don't want to get too deep so I'll just say that this house was the ONLY place I felt safe as a child.

This house gave me the love I craved. All of my happiest memories as a child occured within those walls. I knew in that house that I could be myself. That no one would judge me there (except maybe my sister...but hey what are sisters for right. Haha). No criticism zone...pure and true encouragement only.

My heart aches to feel the warmth of that home, even if for just one more moment. " ..... And here are her thoughts after finally hearing the song:

" While listening to "Again", I remembered a dream I had about the house, mom-mom and pop-pop.

During the dream I was so incredibly happy but I had this sense that it would soon turn to grief as I knew in my heart that the moment would not last. In my dream I had no clue that they, like the house were now just memories etched on my soul forever; but I sensed it somehow.

When I woke I felt sad but content. Sad for the obvious...I miss them terribly. Content because just for that brief moment in my subconscious...I was home again. I was in a place with people that truly embraced what a home is. The song, "Again" made me want to smile while crying." -Danielle

So you see? the music...inspiring the art....making people understand both desperately then what they mean together.... That is why I do this! Hope you enjoyed our visual review of "Again"

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Back in August of 2013; Lee DeWyze released his album “Frames “ and along with the help of one of my best friends and my sister… we created a Visual review of the album.

I have yet to see this done by any other artist for any other musician. For those of you that do not know me, My name is Jenn Harding and I am an artist. About 99.9% of my work has been inspired by the music and lyrics of Lee DeWyze.

Back in 2013, I did a Visual review of “Frames” A track by track visual journey of how each song made me feel, why I chose the image I did to represent that song, etc.

To take it to the next level and show you just how powerful music and art are when they come together, My friend Mare also contributed using her knowledge of Lee’s music and my art and how the two together make her feel.

Then as an added bonus…. I introduced my sister, Danielle. She writes about the art and how it makes her feel before she hears the song for the first time….. It is an amazing experience to hear how everyone has different takes on the songs, the art and then the two of them together…

The world is filled with music lovers that are not necessarily exposed to the art world and vice versa…. This format; a visual review; not only exposed both art and music fans to the other… but explains how they can come together to create a whole new experience. ….

Within the next few weeks; Mare, Danielle and myself will be posting each track on Lee’s newest album “Oil & Water”, which was released in February of this year. It is 10 songs of perfection and I have art for all tracks.

Hopefully as soon as Monday or Tuesday of next week, we will have our first post up for Track 1, “Again”

So stay tuned and spread the word!!!!! We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback as we go track by track through this hauntingly beautiful album!